Autoamtic ball-point pen



June 5, 1962 A. CAVIGLIONE AUTOMATIC BALL-POINT PEN Filed Jan. 19, 1960INVENTOR A LESSANORO CA V/GL/ONE ATTORNEY 5 United States Patent3,037,483 AUTOMATIC BALL-POINT PEN Alessandro Caviglione, Milan, Italy,assignor to Fabbrica Italiana Matite Lyra S.a.v.l., Milan, Italy, acompany of Italy Filed Jan. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 3,402 Claims priority,application Italy Jan. 20, 1959 3 Claims. (Cl. 12042.03)

The present invention relates to automatic ball-point pens which can berefilled.

The ball-point pens in use at the present time are of a rathercomplicated construction being composed of different parts, and thereplacement of the ink charge in them is also a somewhat troublesomeoperation entailing the dismantling and remounting together of componentparts distinct from the pen.

The subject of the present invention is an automatic ball-point penwithout inconveniences referred to inherent in the recognised ball-pointpens.

The ball-point pen according to the invention, is characterised orindividulated by the fact that it comprises an external sheath fittedwith two small open slots diametrically opposite to each other, and aplunger carrying in a self-evident manner, the ink charge and thewriting device (refill); this plunger is regulated by two distinctcontrol components contrived as one sole part under the form of twodiametrically opposed projections, one to bring the pen into action andthe other to release it from the working position, which projections aredesigned to engage with one edge of the respective small open slotsunder pressure exerted by a spring such as normally fitted in anautomatic pen. One of these slots is large enough to permit the fittingsof the plunger with its refill through it in a sideways direction to theaxis of the pen by making use of the flexibility or capability ofbending of the refill.

This construction of the pen allows, first of all, for the maximum ofconstructional simplicity inasmuch as the entire pen is made up of onlytwo parts namely the external sheath or case and the plunger with itsrefill, to the exclusion of any other additional part, that is ofcourse, including the usual helicoidal spring essential to the workingof every automatic ball-point pen. Likewise the production dies used inmaking the two parts composing the ball-point pen are simpler and lessfragile or brittle than those employed in the manufacture of thewell-known ball-point pens.

The simplicity of the production dies is especially apparent in theinstance, in which according to one form of embodiment of the presentinvention, the clip of the pen forms an integral piece with the plungerinstead of with the external sheath of the pen, as is usual.

The invention will be understood better from the following detaileddescription, given solely under the heading of an example and thereforenot restrictive, of one form of embodiment and with reference to thesingle drawing attached, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an axial section of a ball-point pen according to theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective of the pen, showing as it is in theact of replacing the refill, and

3,037,483 Patented June 5, 1962 FIGURE 4 is a partial view in section ofthe pen in projected or writing position.

Examining first of all FIGURES 1 and 2, it is apparent that the penincludes an external sheath 1 possessing at the top two small open slotsor ports 2, 3 diametrically opposite, of which the first is obviouslylarger and longer than the second. Inside the sheath there is fitted theusual writing component 4 with its own ink supply (the refill) and itstube which can be bent being flexible. Writing component 4 is connectedwith the top of the pen in corresponding seat fashioned in a body 5forming the plunger of the ball-point pen. At the side of this bodyfacing the small slot 2 there protrudes a clip 6, which as shown at 6 isknurled, forming an integral component with the body 5, and on theopposite side facing small slot 3 there is a tooth 7. The body 5 isrecessed at the top into two diametrically opposite rabbets 8, 9. In thehollow space between the refill and the external sheath of the pen thenormal helical spring 10 is inserted and, at one end, it rests against ashaped rabbet 11 in the sheath 1. FIGURE 1 shows the pen when not inuse. In this position the recessed rabbet 8 in the body 5 is in contactwith the top edge of the small slot 2 and held locked in that positionby the spring 10. When required for use in-writing it is enough to pressclip 6 downwards and sideways towards the inside of small slot 2. Thenthe body 5 travels downwards compressing spring 10 until the position isreached where lateral pressure exerted on clip 6 causes the recessedrabbet 9 to spring into the small slot 3 thus locking this rabbet orshoulder with the top edge of the small slot under pressure of spring 10which acts to maintain this engagement. When the pen is no longerrequired for writing it can be put out of action by pressing sideways onthe tooth 7 causing the rabbet 9 to become disengaged from the smallslot 3 and the body 5 springs upwards until the rabbet or recessedshoulder 8 comes into contact with the top edge of the other small slot2. It is anticipated that eventually the tooth 7 will function as arabbet thus dispensing with the rabbet 8 of the clip.

The operations of dismantling and re-assembling the pen in order tochange the refill are extremely simple. To take out the refill the clip6 is pressed downwards and pulled sideways away from the small slot 2until the whole body 5 slides out of the slot. Once the tooth 7 hascleared the top edge of the small slot 2 (FIGURE 3) the complete refillcan be extracted from this same slot by making use of the flexibility ofthe refill. It does not matter whether the spring 10 stays outside thesheath or is pulled out with the refill. When the refill in the body 5has been replaced, the new refill is inserted into the pen by theinverse operation namely inserting it inside the spring 10 sticking outsideways from the slot 2 and pushing the whole unit by acting on theplunger 5 until the lower end of the plunger has cleared the edge ofslot 2 and, under the action of spring 10 is lodged in its appropriateseat formed in the lower point of the sheath 1.

Although only one form of embodiment of the invention has beenrepresented here, it is obvious that many variants and modifications maybe adduced without departing from the ambit of the same invention.

I claim:

1. A ballpoint pen, comprising a flexible refill which may be removedfrom the sheath or introduced in it respectively and may be controlledto shift it from a writing position to a position of non-use against theaction of a spring, and a sheath provided with two diametricallyopposite slots, one of said slots being large enough to enable therefill to pass through it, the refill having a head portion having twoprojections each extending through one of said slots for shifting therefill into and out of the writing position respectively, one of saidprojections having a pair of abutments alternately engageable with anend wall of its corresponding slot for determining the writing and thenon-writing positions respectively.

2. A pen according to claim 1, in which the projection extending throughthe slot enabling the passage of the refill is the clip of the pen, saidclip having an abutment adapted to engage one end of said slot.

3. A pen according to claim 2, characterised by the fact that the clipis knurled on said abutment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,526,268 Perraud Oct. 17, 1950 10 2,898,887 Van Haltern Aug. 11, 1959FOREIGN PATENTS 805,573 Great Britain Dec. 10, 1958 822,245 GreatBritain Oct. 21, 1959

